Chris Young The canadian Press
The giant Loblaw will offer a bounty of thanks, in a single payment to its workers, who have been at the front at the height of the pandemic.
As the déconfinement extends in Québec, the premium of $ 2 per hour that affect workers in the field of food begin to disappear. These premiums of $ 2 per hour in the supermarkets in general need to come to an end on Saturday 13 June. But on Thursday, the giant Loblaw has indicated that, while the premium offered to its employees will indeed end on 13 June, it will once again offer a bonus of a thank you, in a single payment to its workers, who have been at the front at the height of the pandemic.
Loblaw will pay to its employees the equivalent of the amount of the premium for a period of two weeks, based on the average hours of work during the period of 14 weeks of the pandemic. According to the union Uniforms, it would be $ 160 for an employee working 40 hours per week. Loblaw points out that this “reward additional” cost $ 25 million.
In a statement sent by email Thursday afternoon, Metro also noted that the premium of $ 2 per hour will end on June 13. “In recognition of additional, our full-time employees will receive an amount of $ 200 and our part-time employees, in the amount of $ 100 which will be paid by 2 July,” said Metro.
The canadian Press had not yet received a response from Sobeys (IGA) at the time when these lines were written.
Olymel
At Olymel, Richard Vigneault, corporate communications, clarified that the premiums would end on June 22. They were announced on the 24th of march, at the same time that several protection measures within the company, slaughter and food processing.
Mr. Vigneault says that “the vast majority” of the 15 000 employees of Olymel in Canada have benefited for three months. “The direction of Olymel think we should return to the conditions of the market. It was a considerable financial effort, ” said Mr. Vigneault.
Unions
For its part, the main trade union in the sector, the Workers of the united food and commercial (UFCW) affiliated with the FTQ in Quebec, is disappointed that the employers of various sectors choose to stop paying the premium COVID-19 while the pandemic continues. Besides, the UFCW had negotiated those bonuses, at the beginning of the pandemic.
The union of the UFCW estimates that the pandemic will have at least had the merit of raising the strategic importance of these workers in supermarkets, the retail trade and the food — workers who are too often in the shadows.
In Uniforms it was more scathing in his opposition to the decision of Loblaw to put an end to the premium. “The pandemic is not over. The danger is not behind us. These workers are not less at risk, and no less essential today than yesterday “, said national president Jerry Dias.
“The workers of the retail trade has always been vital, they have always deserved a lot better. This is not the pandemic that has made these essential workers, and it is not she who created the inequality in the retail trade, it has simply exposed. “
Uniforms and equipment is campaigning for a fair wage is paid permanently. Many workers in the sector are forced to occupy more than a part-time job to get by. “We have seen, in the sector of long-term care, at which point it is dangerous for these essential workers to move from one job to another. It is no different in the retail trade, ” said Mr. Dias.
“Uniforms and equipment cautions all employers in the retail trade, the return to normal will not take place for these workers, because the normal was not enough. “
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